From: JCPoor5772@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2001 10:45 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: dockets 00N1396; 00D-1598
9112 Autoville Drive
College Park, MD 20740
March 30, 2001
FDA Commissioner Jane Henney
Dockets Management Branch (HFA 305)
Food & Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, Maryland 20852
Dear Ms. Henney:
I am writing to express my strong desire in favor of labeling for all forms
of genetically engineered (GE) foods.
The world is on the threshold of some very dramatic changes in the way we
grow, prepare, preserve, and present the very essence of life itself: Our
food. Next to the primacy of water, food is the very foundation for health
and life itself. My concern is that without labeling where we are going with
these coming changes, we will have no roadmap to retrace our way if indeed we
make a misstep at this junction in our travel.
Just as strict definitions of organic foods and their labeling provide one
roadmap to our purer history, so must definitions of genetically altered food
and their public labeling be absolutely essential to the assurance of future
health and well being.
Perhaps time will tell us - in generations, rather than in years - that
genetically modified foods are acceptable and not detrimental to most of us.
Perhaps time will tell us that such foods are not good for us. And for that
reason, it is imperative that foods be labeled for their GE content. If we
are going to use the citizens of this country and of the world in an
experiment of safety, we must be able to know who eats what and also allow
those who wish not to participate in such experimentation their absolute
right to not choose such foods. For some, this decision may be
life-threatening.
I urge you to insure that GE foods are given adequate pre-market testing.
However, even with that testing (which should require generations, rather
than months or years), there will be those who do not wish to consume such
foods. All citizens of the world deserve such a consideration, not only
Americans. Your decision on the currently proposed regulations can make huge
differences to us and to all future life on our planet.
Please give this consideration serious deliberation. I hope that you will
give all of us the opportunity to make informed decisions about the foods we
eat.
Sincerely,
Joan Carol Poor